A man suspected of killing 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey but never arrested for her death has reportedly admitted to a high school friend that he did indeed kill the little girl.
DailyMail TV reports that Gary Oliva, 54, a convicted pedophile currently serving 10 years at Colorado’s Limon Correctional Facility on a child pornography conviction, reportedly wrote incriminating letters about JonBenét that his former classmate, music publicist Michael Vail, obtained. According to Vail, the convict believed he would have “gone to hell” had he not confessed.
“I let her slip and her head bashed in half and I watched her die,” Oliva allegedly wrote, according to the outlet. “It was an accident. Please believe me. She was not like other kids.”
“JonBenét completely changed me and removed all evil from me. Just one look at her beautiful face, her glowing beautiful skin, and her divine God-body, I realized I was wrong to kill other kids. Yet by accident she died and it was my fault.”
JonBenét was killed in December 1996, inside her family’s Boulder home. Police found the little girl in the basement, lying face-up with her mouth closed with duct tape and a nylon cord wrapped around her wrists and neck. There was no forced entry in the home but police discovered the basement window unlocked.
Authorities never found Oliva’s DNA in the home, but the crime scene had been greatly compromised after numerous people, including law enforcement, walked throughout the home searching for the little girl and touching things, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Vail told DailyMail TV that Vail said he had his suspicions about Oliva shortly after JonBenét’s death. Oliva allegedly admitted to Vail that he “hurt a little girl” shortly after the crime, but never admitted specifically to killing JonBenét until the letters.
“My suspicions began when Gary called me late at night on December 26, 1996. He was sobbing and said, ‘I hurt a little girl,” Vail explained. “I had known Gary from my time at high school and we had kept in touch. When he said he had hurt a little girl I tried to get more information out of him. The only other thing he told me was that he was in the Boulder, Colorado area.”
Police records indicate that Oliva was indeed associated with an address around 10 blocks from the Ramsey home and he was considered a suspect, along with numerous others. Yet, he’s never been arrested due to lack of physical evidence, despite authorities finding hundreds of photos of JonBenét on his phone in 2016 and a reported “Ode to JonBenét” poem in 2000, when officers searched his backpack during a drug investigation.
Vail said he turned the letters over to the Boulder Police Department.
This isn’t the first time, however, that someone has claimed to JonBenét’s killer. In 2006, John Mark Karr confessed to killing JonBenét, but according to the Denver Post, experts quickly denounced his claims.
“The guy says he picked her up at school,” Colorado defense attorney Larry Pozner said of Karr. “He said he drugged her. There is no evidence to support that. There is no reason to think it is true.”
According to a coroner’s report, no drugs were found in the little girl’s system.
RELATED Reading: JonBenét Ramsey: Murder mystery still lingers; can new DNA testing solve the case?
Meanwhile, Boulder Police spokesperson Laurie Ogden confirmed with DailyMail they received the letters.
“The Boulder Police Department is aware of and has investigated Mr. Olivas’ potential involvement in this case. We have passed the additional information you provided onto investigators. We will not comment on any actions or the status of this investigation.”
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: JonBenét Ramsey/Boulder PD Handout]
